The Honorable Whittington W. Clement
Secretary of Transportation, Commonwealth of Virginia
Ninth Street Office Building
202 North 9th Street - 5th Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I write to you on behalf of several thousand Virginia taxpayers who are encountering unreasonable obstacles when seeking to renew their Virginia driver's licenses. The problem is that current Virginia DMV procedures do not take into account the unique situation faced by the members of the U.S. Foreign Service who, although legally domiciled in Virginia, are often sent overseas on long term assignments by their employer, the federal government.

By way of background, I am the President of the American Foreign Service Association, the professional association representing the 11,000 members of the U.S. Foreign Service (i.e., our nation's diplomats) serving in 260 locations overseas and in the United States. All U.S. Foreign Service members must, by federal regulation, designate a state of domicile on entry into government service. In the absence of a decision to change it, this state of domicile remains their state of domicile throughout their Foreign Service career, which may last thirty years or more, whether they are serving overseas or in a domestic assignment. It is this state of domicile in which they pay state income taxes, in which they vote (often by absentee ballot), and it is to this state that the U.S. Department of State will transport them, their family, and their possessions when they retire from government service.

A large proportion of the 11,000 members of the Foreign Service are domiciled in Virginia, having settled in the area while working in Washington, D.C. and thereafter retaining their Virginia domiciliary status while serving in later assignments overseas. Many, however, do not return to Virginia for years at a stretch, although they continue to pay Virginia taxes, cast absentee ballots in Virginia elections, and maintain bank accounts in the Commonwealth.

Most importantly for this discussion, these Virginia taxpayers continue to maintain their Virginia driver's licenses while they are assigned abroad. If this were not possible, they would have no way to possess any U.S. driver's license. This would obviously present quite a problem whenever they flew back to the United States for a temporary visit (say, to visit Disney World or attend a funeral in Seattle).

Unfortunately, in recent months Foreign Service employees have found it difficult to renew their Virginia driver's licenses because of the new regulations designed to tighten the proof of residency requirements. DMV employees, both at the regional offices and at the on-line renewal facility, have proven reluctant to depart from their existing strict guidelines to
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accommodate U.S. diplomats who cannot satisfy the requirement to produce a Virginia street address. Recently, for example, the wife of one of our nation's most distinguished career Ambassadors was sent on a 4 1/2 hour odyssey bouncing between the Arlington DMV and Arlington County Courthouse in search of an evolving list of documentation demanded by DMV staffers in order to renew her driver's license.

What is needed is a clear DMV policy on what a Foreign Service employee must produce in order to get a driver's license. That directive must recognize that the one thing that most Foreign Service employees serving overseas cannot provide is an actual address of residence in the Commonwealth. The directive should explain mechanisms by which Foreign Service employees can renew their Virginia driver's licenses in two different situations:

o The first situation involves a Foreign Service employee who wishes to renew an expiring Virginia driver's license from overseas, either by mail or on-line. The five, ten, fifteen or even twenty-year anniversary may well occur when an employee is overseas, and the employee needs a simple, understandable procedure that will work every time, without being given new hoops to jump through on each occasion.

o The second involves the Foreign Service employee who is temporarily in Virginia on training or consultations when the time comes to renew his or her license, or who has let his Virginia license lapse and needs to get a new one. In this situation, the individual will likely visit one of the DMV offices in Northern Virginia. Foreign Service personnel who are Virginia residents will be able to produce a variety of documentation to support their claims of domicile - for example, previous year Virginia tax returns, local Virginia bank statements, Virginia voter's identification card, an old or expired Virginia driver's license - but the one thing that many of them will be unable to produce is a current Virginia street address. Likewise they will able to produce ample evidence that they are a U.S. State Department or U.S. Agency for International Development employee, to include a State Department or USAID picture ID card.

We seek your assistance in addressing these issues. Once new procedures are put in place, we will undertake a concerted effort (via our frequent communications with our members overseas) to make sure that our members get the word and comply with the revised requirements. If needed, I would be glad to discuss this issue with you or members of your staff in an effort to reach a solution to this problem. I may be reached at 202-338-4045, x502.

Sincerely,

John K. Naland
President, American Foreign Service Association

cc: Governor Mark Warner
State Capitol, 3rd Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
PO Box 27412
Richmond, Virginia 23269